Notes from the Road: Six Days of Hitchhiking Hell

Hi! If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed and follow me on Twitter. Thanks for visiting!

Hitchhiking in Wyoming: don’t do it.

Just don’t.

The Equality State is a perfect storm of hellish conditions. Beyond the fact that it’s only one of a few states where hitching is illegal, it also has a paucity of actual drivers, being the least-populated state in the Union. And too many of those drivers are insular pseudo-militia types who’d rather get pegged with a spiked dildo than pick up an out-of-stater.

Essentially, if you attempt to hitch in Wyoming, you’re going to spend most of your time wracked with paranoia, constantly on the watch for redneck cops and troopers, throwing out your thumb for people who look at you like you’re a child molester.

That alone wasn’t enough to make this the most painful part of my trip; it was capped off with a visit to the Inland Northwest, quite possibly the worst place in America. But enough of that, on with the pictures!

Spearfish, South Dakota

Spearfish, South Dakota

After a false start, Sven let me off on the northwest edge of Rapid City, where I got picked up in five minutes. It was pleasant enough getting out of South Dakota; nice views and good people.

Sundance, Wyoming

Sundance, Wyoming

Sundance, where the trouble began. I left my bag in a ditch by the on-ramp so I could mosey on over to the gas station and relieve myself; something I’ve done in Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and other states without any problem. And what do I see when I leave the station?

A road crew attempting to repossess my stuff.

I had to run across the street waving my arms and yelling to get them to stop. Keep in mind that this was on a near-abandoned intersection; I saw maybe a dozen cars in two hours.

Gillette, Wyoming

Gillette, Wyoming

Gillette, Wyoming

Whoa nelly! Williams, Iowa has some serious competition in the shithole department. Gillette is one of the most dismal places I’ve ever been, a grimy coal-mining town full of mouth-breathing meth addicts whose idea of a fun time is getting into bar fights over the local fat chick. It makes Scranton look classy and cultured. And I was stuck there for two days.

Two days.

Gillette, Wyoming

The only laugh I got all weekend.

Gillette, Wyoming

Downtown Gillette. Take your pick of shitty redneck bars, and try not to get stabbed in the face by some degenerate with a short fuse and a severe fixation on white knighting the only halfway attractive woman within 300 miles.

Gillette, Wyoming

Gillette, Wyoming

The Rockpile Museum, the most amount of culture this pit has to offer. I’m not even going to bother making a joke here.

Gillette, Wyoming

Getting out of Gillette was an ordeal because absolutely no one was interested in picking me up; I got a few friendly honks and that was it. The presence of constant police patrols also forced me to tuck it in whenever they passed me by. I swear at one point one of the city cruisers started spying on me.

After day two of getting absolutely nowhere, I finally decided to say “fuck it” and walked onto the Interstate, hoping to get lucky. My last attempt at highway hitching, back in Iowa, ended in disaster because I was too paranoid about getting hit by a car to concentrate. By this point though, I’d stopped caring. Five miles west, a guy pulled a U-turn specifically to pick me up; I didn’t even have to signal him.

Yes, that’s right: you can walk on the highway in Wyoming, you can pull U-turns on the highway if you’re driving, but you can’t hitchhike.

Campbell County, Wyoming

Moments of stupendously bad luck in my life seem to be followed with supernaturally good fortune. While I’d settled for getting to Buffalo, the next city over, the guy who picked me up was headed all the way to Bozeman, Montana: nearly 400 miles closer to Portland. My verdict: fuck Wyoming. It’s basically Montana’s fatter, skankier sister.

Sheridan, Wyoming

Wyoming has some gorgeous views, particularly nearing Yellowstone. They’re best experienced from the front seat of a car as you furiously scramble to get the hell out.

Ranchester, Wyoming

Ranchester, the last town of significance before the Montana border, and probably the only place I’d really like to have stopped; one of the restaurants there was advertising “Beefalo” burgers.

Big Horn County, Montana

Welcome to Crow Country, where unemployment is at 80 percent and Jesus freaks rule the land.

Billings, Montana

Billings, Montana

Billings, another entry on the list of towns I didn’t care to spend any time in.

Big Timber, Montana

Livingston, Montana

Moving into the Absaroka Range, winds suddenly picked up to the tune of 40-50 mph. They were so bad we were forced to take a detour into the town of Livingston (as we were hauling a trailer), where we saw an eighteen-wheeler that had been overturned merely by the wind.

Belgrade, Montana

Belgrade, Montana

Belgrade, yet another check mark on the “shithole highway town” list. Since it serves as a gateway to Yellowstone, there’s a good number of amenities; an Albertson’s, a few motels (with shockingly affordable rates), fast food restaurants, and a truck stop with free WiFi, all surrounded by gorgeous views of the Rockies. Belgrade was also where, completely unsolicited, a trucker pulled over on the on-ramp to give me twenty dollars, a cup of hot cocoa, and a bag full of food.

Three Forks, Montana

Three Forks, Montana

Three Forks, the next town down, where I got whisked to the following day. After a fruitless two hours trying to get out, I decided to pull a Gillette and started walking down the freeway. Not ten minutes later, a guy slammed his brakes specifically to pick me up; a guy who was going all the way to The Dalles, Oregon.

If there’s a God, he’s got one sick, twisted sense of humor.

Butte, Montana

Anaconda, Montana

Rock Creek, Montana

Missoula, Montana

Mineral County, Montana

Western weather is downright freaky from an outsider’s perspective. On the ride to Spokane, I saw conditions go from bright and sunny to a half-snowstorm (where snow was falling on the mountains but melting into rain by the time it got to us in the valley), to an outright blizzard in Idaho, to just plain overcast and gloomy in eastern Washington.

Mullan, Idaho

The only picture I have of Idaho, as it was getting dark out.

Spokane, Washington

Spokane, Washington

Spokane, Washington

Spokane, Washington

It should be illegal for a city this awful to be located in an area so beautiful. I could have conceivably made it all the way to Portland that night, but I took a detour specifically to meet Greg, one of my readers. I don’t want to say that stopping in Spokane was a mistake, seeing as I enjoyed talking to Greg (and he wrote a nice post about me), but let’s just say that the only way I’d voluntarily spend another ten minutes in the city is if I was going to cleanse it with nuclear fire.

Spokane, Washington

Spokane, Washington

Spokane, Washington

Spokane is best described as having the architectural charm of a Rust Belt city and the atmosphere of a Deep South redneck town circa the Jim Crow era. I have never met people so distrustful, paranoid and unfriendly in my life. To make matters worse, Greg informed me that Spokane’s PD has one of the nastiest reps for abuse and intimidation in the nation; Googling “spokane police brutality” without quotes turns up a rap sheet a mile long. Despite the fact that hitching is legal in Washington, I spent the two days I was trapped in Spokane (yes, two days) constantly watching my back for coppers.

I’ll take a Gillette meth-head over any of Spokane’s average citizens any day of the week; at least the meth-head has an excuse for being an oxygen thief.

Spokane, Washington

Guess what cities I won’t be visiting anytime soon?

Spokane, Washington

Spokane, Washington

Spokane, Washington

Spokane, Washington

I’m a big David Lynch fan, and Spokane is the city where he grew up, providing the inspiration for Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks. Walking through town, I got a definite Blue Velvet vibe: a picture-esque rural town that’s hiding a dark secret. All the place needed was Dennis Hopper taking hits via an oxygen mask.

Spokane, Washington

Spokane, Washington

The outskirts of town, where after what seemed like weeks of trudging and trying not to pass out from exhaustion, I got a ride out.

Lincoln County, Washington

Enjoy looking at those evergreen trees? Don’t get too attached, because they vanish once you get too far away from Spokane. Eastern Washington is basically a desert, North Dakota with fewer lakes.

Ritzville, Washington

Ritzville, Washington

Ritzville, Washington

Ritzville, yet another generic Interstate town. Still, I was so happy to get out of that wretched hellhole called Spokane that I didn’t care.

Vantage, Washington

Vantage, Washington

Vantage, Washington

Crossing the Columbia River, where the flatlands finally give way to hills and mountains.

Cle Elum, Washington

Cle Elum, Washington

Entering the Cascades, the Pacific Northwest’s dividing line between the scumfucks and the actual human beings.

Learn how to start a blog and make money from day one with this short guide. Also receive twice-monthly updates highlighting my best articles as well as news and special offers you won't find anywhere else.

First Name

Email

I guarantee 100% privacy. Your information will not be shared.

Share this:

Like this:

Hey did you make it to Yakima by any chance? I only ask because I live there and I was morbidly curious as to whether or not you would find it as awful as the people here and everywhere else think it is, its essentially a smaller version of Spokane with more crime lol. All joking aside I just found your blog, pretty interesting stuff I’ll be reading more up on it.

yO mAN

HOLY SHIT YOU FUNNNY AS FUCK MY MAN!

I goggled Livingston Montana Sucks ass and your blog came up. Walked into the gas station and no shit, the lady was arguing that she could purchase gas with food stamps, so I wait and she begins to yell. I look her up and down and ban swastika.

I left. We out at 6 am when my son wakes up, Your blog made an otherwise shitty night tolerable, be good my man and if you’re ever in Portland Oregon you have my e mail

Again, thanks for the comic relief in this God forsaken shittier version of Deliverance…

kevin p

oh boy, where do i start? i have been hitchhiking or hopping trains since 1988 and have been to most of the places in your photos. you dodged a bullet when u got thru Ranchester/ Burgess Junction….all the idiots in Wyoming gather at this toilet called Bear Lodge Resort. i was in Spokane 8-2012 and i had a hell of a time getting out of there. Gillette is bad but Buffalo is worse. except for Yellowstone, the rest of Wyoming sucks. anyway, on to more positive things….if u are ever in Bozeman again, i offer my hospitality. come visit, have a smoke or a drink we can swap road stories. i offer my house as a rest area for weary travelers. all u have to say is hitch-hiking thru, need a safe place to rest up. kevin p, 74 lancelot lane bozeman montana. i am always willing to help fellow travelers.

Kevin

Hey Matt, I found your site via ROK and started reading the archives. I thought this was a very cool story man as I can relate as I don’t dig where I live either.

Couple of questions went through my mind as I read this-

We’re you ever an athlete or into fitness? Moving around with a heavy backpack on foot for miles for 6 months is pretty intense.

Did Seattle suck?

Was Spokane really that cheesy?

I thought the Northern burbs and Coeur D’Alene were supposed to be nice. My favorite rock singer Myles Kennedy came from Spokane.

Did you get to Northern California (its a place I want to visit but haven’t yet)?

Is the cliche true-most of flyover Country is pretty cookie cutter generic and basically lame.

Lastly- Have you thought about being like Roosh and working and living in Eastern Europe?

I have because Latinas and Asians don’t appeal to me and the only cool places to live in America are super expensive.

Ps-I think it took guts to do what you did. You could’ve easily died in an artic redneck craphole like Wyoming and you’re right about their militia fetish as I was a big fan of an author named Kenneth Royce but then I realized the government doesn’t care about a bunch of rednecks in shacks with assault rifles and these people became so deluded with ideology and hate (yeah the system sucks) that they are missing out on life by sitting in a shack with an AR-15 instead of being open to experiencing life more. These militia dudes Inused to read had me thinking everyone in Los Angeles was a cholo who would kill you on sight but I founds tons of easy going chill people when I visited places like Pasadena so the redneck paranoia thing is not the best path (Im from the South so I speak from experience).

Learn how to start a blog and make money from day one with this 6-page PDF guide. Also receive twice-monthly updates highlighting my best articles as well as news and special offers you won't find anywhere else.

First Name

Email

I guarantee 100% privacy. Your information will not be shared.

My Books

Shop via Amazon

Like my blog? Shop at Amazon by clicking the banner ad above and I get a commission at no extra cost to you.

Shop via iHerb

Shop at iHerb using the above link or coupon code PGZ255 and save $10 on your first purchase of $40 or more (or save $5 on orders less than $40).